If the Angels make the playoffs I see no reason for him not to at least be close to winning it. They we're playing some awful baseball before he came up. They literally turned it around when he came up.
Or Bobby Abreu was holding the team down.

MVP is really a measure of, or at least should be, the best player in the league.

I'm not sure I agree that "most valuable" for 2012 equals "best player." I understand some people disagree, but I don't find those things always the same.

Were I a voter, impact on a pennant race would be one thing I would consider. Certainly not the only thing, perhaps not the most important thing. But a thing, nonetheless. The object is still to win, after all, and if two players are relatively close, to me the one whose performance came in important situations is more "valuable."

As to the OP, Trout is having an amazing season, and should be in the discussion for MVP, IMO.

Side note: if the Twins could go back in time, he was available when they drafted Gibson. Interesting question...if the Twins had drafted him, would he be toiling away in Ft Myers today?

I'm not sure I agree that "most valuable" for 2012 equals "best player." I understand some people disagree, but I don't find those things always the same.

Were I a voter, impact on a pennant race would be one thing I would consider. Certainly not the only thing, perhaps not the most important thing. But a thing, nonetheless. The object is still to win, after all, and if two players are relatively close, to me the one whose performance came in important situations is more "valuable."

As to the OP, Trout is having an amazing season, and should be in the discussion for MVP, IMO.

Side note: if the Twins could go back in time, he was available when they drafted Gibson. Interesting question...if the Twins had drafted him, would he be toiling away in Ft Myers today?

I guess it depends on how close the person on the losing team is to the other guys on the winning teams. If the difference is negligible or the guy on the winning team is just slightly worse than I could see an argument, depending upon their performance in clutch situations, or their impact on the last month of the season.

I really don't think Trout would be in high A if he were on the Twins, I could see him in AA or AAA though. He's been absolutely fantastic from the moment he was drafted. He's never really struggled at any level outside of the first couple hundred of major league at bats he had last year.

MVP is not a measure of best player, it is not a most outstanding player award. Having your team in playoff contention should be a factor in the writers votes.

It should only be a factor if two players are very close and one is in the playoffs and the other is not. That's the only reason playoff standing should come into it. Otherwise a guy like Yadier Molina would win it every year because he is the absolute most important player on his team, and they're playoff bound most years. If you don't agree with that, then you do see that the award has a significant amount of it's definition in the "best player" award. Otherwise, prepare to write down Andrelton Simmons as the NL ROY and NL MVP this year if you're pure basis is the "most valuable" player on a playoff competitive team.

A lot can happen in the second half to make one MVP candidate stand out above the crowd. It will be interesting to see if young Mr. Trout has the ability to keep this up for an entire season.
When was the last time an MVP started the year in the minor leagues? Has it every happened?

To those arguing that the team needs to make the playoffs. So a player can not have value unless he plays on one of the 10 playoff teams? Is it the "Most Valuable to a Playoff team Player"? Matt Kemp had extreme value to the Dodgers last year, and was robbed of the award. If he takes the Dodgers from a 70 win team to an 80 win team, and Ryan Braun takes the Brewers from a 87 win team to a 91 win team, wasn't Kemp more valuable? Or do his stats not matter since his 24 other teammates weren't good enough?

The Angels will be in the race til the end and will most likely make the playoffs, so Trout if he continues to play well will most certainly be in MVP hunt.
A better question is if Mauer continues to hit like he has since the middle of May (.980 OPS) will he be considered an MVP candidate?

To those arguing that the team needs to make the playoffs. So a player can not have value unless he plays on one of the 10 playoff teams? Is it the "Most Valuable to a Playoff team Player"? Matt Kemp had extreme value to the Dodgers last year, and was robbed of the award. If he takes the Dodgers from a 70 win team to an 80 win team, and Ryan Braun takes the Brewers from a 87 win team to a 91 win team, wasn't Kemp more valuable? Or do his stats not matter since his 24 other teammates weren't good enough?